Nelly is back in the studio tying up his next project Heartland which is scheduled for a summer release. Nelly is also picking back up his country western swag which he first unveiled in 2005 with his crossover hit “Over and Over” with Tim McGraw off his Sweat/Suit album. The St. Louis rapper recently stopped by Canada’s “The Morning Show” and explained that now is the time for the country infused album to be released.
“Everything just manifested its way leading back to this point. I’ve had this idea for ten years almost, but it never really felt like the right time for some reason but here we are. I think the pandemic probably had something to do with it because I was really able to lock in and lock down and really get the ideas out and I just thought it was time for a new chapter,” said the Country Grammar creator.
Nelly revealed in the interview that it was R&B funkster-turned-pop superstar Lionel Richie who turned him on to country music. Nelly explained that his uncle was a huge Richie fan who showed him just how great the “All Night Long” singer’s pen game was too.
“Lionel Richie is one of if not the best greatest song writer of all time and my uncle was a huge Commodores fan and he loved all things Lionel Richie and he got me into song writing and just structure, and things of that note. Then he was showing me all these things that Lionel Richie was doing that didn’t have nothing to do with the Commodores or the music he was doing,” said Nelly.
“And just how versatile he was, and I was like wow. Kenny Rogers is someone he wrote for, and from there I went through Kenny Rogers catalog and then I was listening to Hank Williams, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and it was just over after that,” Nelly said.
Nelly also previously spoke on Heartland with radio station Q-104 in Kentucky and detailed the upcoming project even more.
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